Eyes on the lies

In Wim Wenders's film Far Away, So Close, two angels look out across Berlin from atop the Brandenburg Gate. One of the angels, Raphaela, speaks to her colleague, Cassiel: "It is so exhausting to love people who run away from us. Why do they shun us more and more?"

Cassiel responds: "Because we have a powerful enemy, Raphaela. People believe more in the world than in us. And to believe still more, they've created an image of everything. They expect images to allay their fears, until their dreams provide their pleasures, satisfy their longings. . . . People are besieged by new lies every day, ever louder, baser and more intrusive lies which dull their senses so they are unable to hear our message."